New Year’s Resolutions invariably fail and there are many reasons why that’s the case.

One of the main reasons would be that many of us compile our goals for the new year after a few champagnes at about 11:58pm on December 31.

The time to start planning what you are going to achieve next year is now. A year is too important to waste and significant goals don’t often come without spending time in careful consideration.

Find a quiet place, get a pen and paper out and start writing down specific and meaningful goals now so that when the New Year comes you are ready to launch yourself into your challenges with enthusiasm and congruence.

One of the greatest challenges that we are facing today is finding the right balance between work and home.

There are so many demands placed on leaders that finding this balance can be difficult, especially if it isn’t consciously managed.

In addition, we can seduce ourselves into thinking that more meetings, interstate travel and work-related events are more glamorous than the seemingly mundane life of changing nappies, loud and messy kids and a spouse who is demanding more from you.

However, we need to change this perspective.

David O. McKay helps us when he says, “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.”

In anything that you do in public, there will be cynics who look down their noses at your efforts and those who are cheering you on and hoping that you do well.

There may be 98 people who are fully engaged with your presentation and two in the audience who have their arms crossed and a scowl across their face, but invariably it’s the two that we work hardest to please.

We think about them, ask them questions, argue with them, try to convince them and try to cater to their needs, to the detriment of the remaining masses who are really enjoying your work.